Improved device for shooting gravel at cows upon railroad-tracks



S. SCOTTON.

Device for Shooti ng Gravel at Cows upon Railroad Tracks.

Patented May 15-, 1866.

N. Ftlifiifmmuihmwhw, Washington. D. Q

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

STEPHEN SOOTTON, OF RICHMOND, INDIANA.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 54,783, dated May 15,1866.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, STEPHEN SGOTTON, of Richmond, in the county of Wayneand State of Indiana, have invented a new and useful Improvement 01] aMachine or implement for Shooting Missiles at Cows on Railroads,invented by me, and for which Letters Patent were granted to me on the11th of May, 1858; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full,clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to theannexed drawings, making a part of this specification, and showin g theconstruction and operation of the same.

Figure 1 is a perpendicular section of the machine when charged andready for use.

A is the hopper or reservoir for holding the gravel. Bis the tube orbarrel for holding the charge, and from which it is projected by theforce of steam from the boiler along the track. When at rest the valve0, which works on a hinge at Fig. 2, drops down, as shown at Fig. 1, andallows the gravel to run down into the barrel B as far as the hinged andupright valve D. This valve is made to stand perpendicular, as shown atD, Fig. 1, when no force is applied 5 but on the application of force ityields and bends down, as shown at D in Fig. 2. Thus by merely pulling acord the steam rushes through the tube, raising valve 0. Striking thebody of gravel at B, it forces it along, bending down the valve D andmaking a clear passage through the tube, like a gun-barrel. Letting gothe cord, the steam is instantly shut off, when valve 0 drops and Drises up. The gravel immediately runs down and fills up the tube as Faras valve D. It is then ready for another discharge. In that way it canbe discharged as often as the cord is pulled. The force of the dischargecan be regulated by the force applied to the cord, a strong pull causinga violent discharge and a light pull a feeble one. Valve C is maderather thick, and should be beveled from the under edge to the upperone, as shown at 3, like a chisel, so that when it is raised up, as at 3in Fig. 2, it will not be stopped from closing up the throat of thefunnel A by means of gravel-stones being caught in the opening. Valve Dmay also be made of gutta-percha or some other elastic material. Thesedrawings and specification are made specially to illustrate theoperation of the valve 0, all of the rest having been described andillustrated in a former patent. a discharge by means of the coil-springF.

G is a locomotiveboiler, in which the tube B is inserted. Steam isadmitted into B by pulling cord H, which shoves out plug Y. The steamshuts the plug up.

I do not claim the tube B, nor the valve D, nor the hopper A, for theyhave all been claimed and used before; but

What I do claim is- The construction and operation of the valve (J, incombination with the hopperAand tube B, or their equivalents, for thepurposes herein described.

STEPHEN SOOTTON. Witnesses:

T. N. YOUNG, O. W. YOUNG.

Valve D is raised up after

